Season 3: The Aftermath
by Michael Goldman
Summary: As the summer comes to a close and school makes its way, Ryan, Marissa, Summer, Seth, Sandy, Kirsten, Julie, and Jimmy must deal with the drama that struck before the summer. Get ready for a new take on Season 3 of The O.C.!


Marissa, wearing shades and a yellow bikini with white polka dots, was tanning by the pool of her mother's dishonestly attained Cooper-Nichol mansion, looking up at the clear blue sky. Next to her was her best friend Summer, wearing a solid blue bikini and sunglasses as well. After a long moment of silence, Summer looked over at her best friend and noticed that look in her eyes, that look that had been in her eyes all summer.

"Everything is going to be fine, Coop," said Summer, trying to comfort her. Of course, while her efforts were inspired, Summer rarely succeeded to comfort Marissa, for Marissa's troubles were often too great to be comforted for.

"Really? How is that? I shot my boyfriend's brother and he's been comatose ever since before the summer. In the off chance that he wakes up, I'll probably be investigated. If not, I'll have to sit here the whole time thinking about it. And I don't know which one's worse," replied Marissa with that same worry in her voice that she had all summer long.

"Well, we haven't really talked about it, so…" Summer said.

"I haven't really talked about it with anyone. Not even Ryan."

"Well I think you should. I think it's important that you do," suggested Summer, looking at Marissa.

"Okay. Well, my boyfriend's brother tried to rape me, my boyfriend found out and tried to kill his brother, his brother almost killed him, and for that I shot his brother. Now he's in a coma." Marissa turned to Summer. Summer stared back at her, and then broke the silence.

"Yeah. This isn't working, is it?"

"No," Marissa replied bluntly.

"Okay. New topic then. So… how is everything?"

Marissa lowered her shades and looked at her best friend. "Is that a question?

Summer, rolling her eyes, replied, "You know, besides the whole comatose thing."

"Look," said an uncomfortable Marissa. "If there's nothing to say then let's just say nothing."

"Well it can't be like this forever. I mean, you did the right thing, which in this case, seems to many other oblivious people to be twisted, immoral, and wrong. But you know what, Coop? Life will go on. You just need some time," Summer assured her.

"So what are you saying?

"I don't know."

In the kitchen of the Cohen household, a bag of bagels lay before Seth, who was pouring himself some cereal in a bowl next to a large green mug of coffee. Sandy, carrying the phone in-between his ear and his shoulder, walked into the kitchen, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Yes, hello?" began Sandy as he heard a man on the other line. "Yeah, hi. Any update on Trey Atwood?" Ryan made his way into the kitchen from the pool house. "He's awake?" The two of them all looked up at Sandy, shocked at what they had just heard. "All right. Thank you very much." Sandy removed the phone from his ear and hung it up. At that moment, Kirsten walked in. "Big news," he said to her. "Trey… he woke up."

"What? When?" Kirsten anxiously asked.

"This morning. The hospital called. They said we can visit anytime tonight from seven to ten. They don't want us coming in right now," replied Sandy to his wife.

"We're all gonna go, right?" asked Seth.

"Of course we're all gonna go," began Kirsten. "Why would you even ask that question?"

"I don't know if I wanna go," said a confused Ryan.

" Sweetie. Of course you'll go. Regardless of what happened, he's in the hospital, and he just woke up from a coma since before the summer."

"That goes back to what happened. To what he did."

"You have to do this. Now. Before school and everything else gets in the way," Kirsten reassured him.

"School. School. Oh my god, school. And we thought last year would be difficult."

"Well, there might be a lot to deal with for the next week or so. But I'll be there for you both," Sandy said to the two of them.

"Thanks," said Ryan, forcing a smile.

"…Wait. If Trey is up, what does that mean for Marissa?" Seth asked nervously.

"Well, my guess is they won't turn to Marissa first. The DA is gonna have a lot of questions for all of you."

Ryan looked up at him apprehensively. "What am I supposed to say?

"Just tell them the truth," insisted Kirsten.

"It's gonna be fine. You and Marissa are gonna be fine," Sandy said. The room became silent and Ryan nervously looked down at the floor, wondering how things would play out, wondering where the situation would take him. Seth just stood there watching him with a feeling of pity. Suddenly, the phone rang and interrupted the short silence. Sandy turned around as Kirsten grabbed it.

"Hello?" said Kirsten as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Well," Sandy said. "I'm gonna be upstairs. See you boys later." Sandy took off, leaving the two boys alone in the kitchen.

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" Seth asked him sympathetically, watching him continue to stare down at the floor.

"What am I gonna do? What if they think it's me? Am I supposed to just pass the blame over to Marissa so they can arrest her?"

"Look, I don't know. But my dad knows what he's talking about, so don't worry."

"I just can't believe this has been going on all summer," Ryan said.

"Yeah. I can't imagine how Marissa's coping with all this," added Seth.

"I wouldn't know. We haven't actually spoken about that night since it happened," Ryan admitted.

"Well, maybe it's time that you do."

"I don't know. That will only make it more awkward for both of us," he said.

"Life sucks," said Seth with a sigh.

Kirsten, upstairs in her bedroom, hung up the phone and tapped it against her hand anxiously.

"Dr. Woodruff?" asked Sandy as he walked into the bedroom. Kirsten turned around to see him.

"Yeah," she said with a smile.

"So you're officially out, huh?"

"I think so."

He walked up to her and kissed her. "Congratulations. I'm proud."

"Thanks," she said, again with a smile. After kissing once more, Kirsten sat down on her bed and looked at a picture of her father standing up on her night table. "I miss him so much. I just wish he didn't have to see me this way." Sandy looked at her compassionately.

"But he loved you. Very much." He moved towards and slowly rubbed her back, leaving the room when he was done. As he left, she got up and opened a drawer, taking out a large black picture album. She sat it across her lap, opening it to the third page and looking at the picture on the bottom left. Standing to the right of her was her father, and standing to her left was her son Seth. Her eyes slowly shifted from Caleb to her son. She began to shed a tear, afraid of losing her son.

"Here you are," said Jimmy Cooper to his wife Julie as he lay a little table over her legs, which were hidden by the blanket covering all of her but her face. "Your favorite sugar-powdered donuts, two Belgian waffles, Orange juice, and two pieces of toast, well done."

Julie looked down weakly at the food and smiled. "Why are you doing this, Jimmy?"

"Julie, you've been a wreck all summer. You haven't been going to yogalates, you haven't stopped watching Oprah, and you've barely even left the house. Look, I know what happened with Marissa is hard to swallow. But it's Marissa. That's how things are meant to be with her. And, like always, we will get through this." Jimmy looked at her as she stared right back. He got up and walked out of the room, leaving her alone, thinking about the condition she was in.

"Okay, okay. Everyone settle down," said Seth to his three glum, immobile friends sitting next to and across from him at the table in the diner. "I'm officially calling this meeting to order. I think… we're all kind of in drama mode. You know, the whole thing with Trey. Marissa's still feeling guilty, Ryan's feeling confused, Summer's feeling bad for her best friend. Well, maybe it's time we feel good for a change. Why don't we all do something, just the four of us? Start senior year off right?" he asked without the attention of the crowd.

"What do you propose we do?" said an unenthusiastic Summer.

"Enthusiasm. I like it. Um… I don't know, something exciting. Something fun. Nothing like this."

"Look, Seth, we appreciate your efforts, but let's be realistic. It's only gonna get worse. We might as well just take the situation how it is," commented Marissa.

"She's right. No sense in running from reality," added Ryan.

"Cohen, let's just finish breakfast," Summer finished.

Seth looked around him, angry with the three of their attitudes. "You know what? Fine. Be pessimists. Waste your life eating pancakes at a diner because you shot your boyfriend's brother---"

Summer smacked him on the shoulder. "Cohen! Watch what you say---"

Seth turned around and walked out of the diner. Summer watched him leave helplessly and then turned back to her friend Marissa, whose mouth was dropped open and eyes welling with tears. Ryan too watched her, feeling regret for what his best friend had just said to her but still seeing truth in the statement. He watched her, understanding the complication of the situation.

Seth lay in his bed, staring at the walls before him. He was trying so hard to hide his own emotions about the situation and let Ryan and Marissa work it out with each other. But lately, it had gotten to be too much. On the 4th of July, Seth rented out the old boat and went for a romantic boat ride with Summer. That night, when he returned home and saw Ryan and Marissa, lying quiet as usual at the house doing something or other, he realized. Life is more than just taking the hit for mistakes that you've made. Life is more than just being punished for sins you've committed during your lifetime. Life is like a boat ride. When the tide fights you, you've got to fight back. And when the tide knocks you down, there's still a chance to get back on that boat altogether.

Ryan returned to the pool house alone and jumped down on his bed. Things tonight had gotten even more complicated, with Seth now on Marissa's bad side. He wondered what exactly had caused Seth's sudden outburst. He wondered how Marissa was doing after hearing what he had to say to her. He wondered when this situation would finally end, and let Ryan and Marissa free from its chains. He remembered the good old days, when the four of them were happy and together, when the worst thing that could happen was getting kicked out of a club in LA. Life had finally thrown him an opportunity two years ago, and now, as he lay down in bed wondering about his future and thinking in the aftermath of his most life-changing experience yet, he was being teased with that opportunity. Life was holding it before him, but with his situation in the way, he couldn't quite grasp onto it.

Summer sat down on her bed flipping through channels as she tried to shut out her rushing thoughts. Nothing could get her feelings in order. Her best friend had shot her boyfriend's brother two month's ago. Her boyfriend had just lashed out on her best friend for reacting the way she was. And she was all over the map as it was all about to be determined. Trey had finally woken up. The future was now. Life was now just a roll of the dice.

Marissa lay down on her bed, cuddling next to Share Bear. She held onto it tight, relieving all her anger and pain in every squeeze she took at it. Slowly, tears formed in her eyes and traveled down her cheeks as she remembered the scene of the shooting occur exactly as it had happened. At first Marissa did not even understand what had even happened. Hr nightmares occurred in different blocks and she was hardly able to tell what she had just dreamed. But as time went on, her memories had gotten clearer, and she was better able to tell what happened. She was better able to tell what had happened that night. In fact, she could feel it more than ever, almost as she felt at that very night. Her life had finally hit an all-time low. It was as if her life was the top of a cliff. She would constantly fall, and every time someone helped her up, she would fall and lose even more ground. And now, she couldn't be helped, as she was no longer hanging onto anything. And she couldn't even try, as the whole cliff was crumbling around her.


End file.
